Peroral delivery of therapeutics is generally considered to be the most popular method of drug delivery for patients since this route, in general, increases patient compliance, decreases the number of side effects associated with injections, and provides convenience for the user. Such an administration route is greatly favored for dosing chronically ill patients.
Carotenoids are a class of hydrocarbons consisting of isoprenoid units. The backbone of the molecule consists of conjugated carbon-carbon double and single bonds, and can also have pendant groups. Crocetin and trans sodium crocetinate (TSC) are known to increase the diffusivity of oxygen in aqueous solutions.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,060,511 relates to trans sodium crocetinate (TSC) and its uses. The patent covers various uses of TSC such as improving oxygen diffusivity and treatment of hemorrhagic shock.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/647,132 relates to synthesis methods for making bipolar trans carotenoid salts (BTC) and methods of using them.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/361,054 relates to improved BTC synthesis methods and novel uses of the BTC.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/081,236 relates to the use of bipolar trans carotenoids as a pretreatment and in the treatment of peripheral vascular disease.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/289,713 relates to a new class of therapeutics that enhance small molecule diffusion.
U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/213,575 relates to the use of diffusion enhancing compounds with thrombolytics.
A variety of bipolar trans carotenoids formulations have been disclosed. See commonly owned application U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/647,132 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/361,054.